NWN 1 & 2 are still selling like hotcakes over at GOG.com...so where are all the players?

[Legacy_Lazarus Magni]

               

At best a promotion might bump up the stats on the game a few fold. So let's say it is only bumping NWN from #6 to #3, is that still not respectable? Or let's even say from # 60 to # 30 of all time oldschool games sold, would that not still be respectable? And yet I think NWN is a lot closer to #3 than #30, and for one reason alone. It's the only game out there that allows this much creativity in an online format (e.g. a p.w.), not to mention all the other beauties it has, such as single player mods, ect...

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_ehye_khandee]

               

Friends,

None of this was said to detract from NWN at all. It is what it is, and atm that is "kicking butt at number three". Not bad for a 2003 release in 2015 eh?

 

KUDOS to the whole NWN team AND community. NWN, she's got legs.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Grani]

               

If there's one thing that could make NWN more attractive to new players, I think it would be a detailed documentation on the rules and terminology in the game. I remember my own start, having no prior knowledge of D&D rules I was pretty much thrown into the game with mechanics I knew nothing about. I could only guess that Armor Class increases defense (which is actually not true), but I had absolutely no idea what a "saving throw" is or how I should understand a description that says a spell lasts 5 rounds. Similarly, I didn't know what 1d4 meant, didn't know what to do with a weapon having an enhancement bonus, or that Hit Dice is a phrase essentially used to denote character's level.

 

I remember how overwhelmed I felt with all this stuff.

 

New players might not be willing to read D&D manuals or browse the wiki just to know the basics of the game mechanics. Creating a nice guide for this and making it popular could really help to attract newcomers... or, to be more precise, to make newcomers stay and not give up on the game they do not understand.

 

Frankly, if anyone tried to write it, I'd be more than willing to translate it to Polish. I think that different versions for different languages would be a good idea in this case, because the terminology might differ quite significantly between different translations (KP is used in Polish instead of AC, for example, which stands for "Klasa Pancerza").

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Lilura]

               

nwn.wikia.com is potentially a great resource for new players, especially this section with its various articles. The problem is they're written by experts of the game, with almost no concessions made to new players on the absolute basics. I guess that site was perfect for me coming back to NWN, but might only confuse and overwhelm new players - I dunno.

 

Perhaps a single document typed up in colored fonts and decorated with love hearts and smilies is the way to go, or a YouTube vid.

 

You have to be very gentle and welcoming with newbies, that's for sure. Long gone are the days of:

 

"Hi, how to do this?"

"RTFM".

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Grani]

               

Indeed. We cannot afford ourselves the comfort of ignoring newbies' pleas for help if we want the community (and the game) to survive. '>

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_KlatchainCoffee]

               

I would be quite interested to contribute to this if I could dig up the time.  Agreed on the very simple and clear explanations for the very new players + a good smattering of attractive graphics. A video would also be great, but that's beyond me at this point.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Dante2377]

               

 

 

I also think a lot of PW admins may still be in the mindset of assuming any interested player will giver their server "a fair shake" or something even if things aren't so great on the website or the starting experience on the world is mediocre -- when in reality there's so much available in both NWN and games in general that many people are almost looking for reasons NOT to play somewhere, if you get my drift.

 

 

I can't help but double and triple agree with MM on that.  As a player, nothing would make me less interested to try your world than to not have any available information other than "a billion custom areas, awesome DMs, blah blah blah" posts without any details.

 

If you can't be bothered to take 30 minutes and list out specifically what gameplay changes you've made (rest restrictions, feat and spell changes, rough magic level, fast or slow leveled, factions, etc) in some sort of organized fashion, I'm probably not going to try it out.  We all have certain gameplay aspects we just don't like (mine are rest restrictions greater than 5 real life minutes and over-customization of spells and feats to the point where you're no longer playing NWN with some tweaks, but an entirely different game that shares the same game engine) and I want to know ahead of time what changes have been made.  

 

Quadruple agree on the starting experience - after character creation is done, if nothing remotely fun or interesting has happened in an hour or 90 mins, I'm probably not coming back.   It doesn't have to be combat even, but anything that will say "yes, that was a fun hour or two, I'm gonna come back tomorrow night".  As an example, I started one server awhile back, saw the starting town, geared up,and ventured into the only area you could leave town.  Each encounter had a group of 3 bees/bugs that chipped away a few points off my life total and with a 20 minute rest, I was basically SOL sitting around waiting not to die.  The only path I could find out (besides back to town) had a bunch of tough looking goblins at the start of the next area.  needless to say, that was the only time I logged in there, it just wasn't fun.   As an FYI, level 1-2 NWN solo combat on most servers I've been on is boring as all s**t, so if that's the main thing to do just starting out, try to make it more than you standing there wait to hit the rat/spider.  And no more clear out the basement/barn/hold of the ship of rats/spiders, at least do something interesting like have the spiders talk and all they want is a fair wage for keeping the barn/inn free of flies and other vermin.  Now that would be an interesting start to a PW.

 

 

So sort of tied into the first hour of gameplay experience, please remember that while you may want your server to be one of those "tough but fair" servers which usually means it's setup for party play, if you're a new server starting out or just have a low player base, there isn't going to be a party, which will lead back to not having a fun time getting mauled by wolves 30 seconds after leaving town.  

 

just some random thoughts from a guy who has started up a character on a lot of places and didn't come back after more than 2 visits.  

 

Dante

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Jfoxtail]

               

nwn.wikia.com is potentially a great resource for new players....

 

.... or a YouTube vid.

 

 

 

This is perhaps wise beyond words.

 

I have never really checked but has anyone ever done a "lets play NWN" on Youtube?

 

If they have did they spend time on character creation outlining the "archtype" build ?

 

i.e. this is the way to create a Fighter (typical damage per second type)... this is the way to build a typical Wizard...typical cleric... typical rogue... Special subset to say show how to build an "Uber"  Bard/Fighter/RDD or Sorcerer Paladin or Ranger/Rogue/Shadowdancer. Uber builds often seem to attract a lot of new gamers attentions despite the fact you can play all the OCs, most community modules, and most non PvP PWs without Uber Builds.

 

I note on other wikis or boards screen shot "builds" be it for Dragon Age etc. Nothing of the type on NWN wiki ??

 

I don't think new players really care so much about "Will / Fortitude / Reflex save" rules other than the advice....

 

"This type of boss will stun you with Brain attacks" beware... get this type equipment, etc etc 

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Jfoxtail]

               

Screen shot builds at level 1 Level 10 Level 20 ....'> 

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Verilazic]

               

I can't endorse enough, how important having valid links and good descriptions showing in various NWN lists is to recruiting actual new faces.

 

I wholeheartedly agree. On that note, I did a google search on "Neverwinter Nights". Here's what I got:

 

1. Wikipedia Entry - Mentions custom content with a few links. Mentions the Neverwinter Vault with no link.

   
2. NWN Diamond on GoG

   
3. NWN on Amazon

   
4. IGN NWN page - Any way we can get them to link to the new vault instead of leaving the message that nwvault is no longer available?

   
5. NWN Wiki - Plenty of info here, though I didn't see any clear links to the community resources on the front page.

   
6. NWN Community Site - I think most of the links are still functional here? Also, the link to NWVault was corrected to the new vault at some point, so that's good.

   
7. Neverwinter MMO site

   
8. Nexus Mods site - This is pretty big with TES, but I know it's not as popular here. Is it possible some players go to Nexus first for custom content because of it's reputation?

   
9. NWN GameBanshee

   
10.  A LetsPlay Youtube video

All in all, not too bad, even if the new vault isn't until the bottom of the second page and these forums are even deeper. I doubt there's a reliable way of getting substantially higher in the search findings.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_ehye_khandee]

               

 I doubt there's a reliable way of getting substantially higher in the search findings.

 

Oh, ye of little faith.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Fester Pot]

               

Oh, ye of little faith.

 

Best friend ever, ehye_khandee, I look forward to your great wisdom and knowledge to bring forth such information!

 

 

 

 

I have never really checked but has anyone ever done a "lets play NWN" on Youtube?

 

 

Here is a Neverwinter Nights Let's Play -

 

https://www.youtube....272141E38405C24

 

 

Here is a Neverwinter Nights Shadowguard Let's Play -

 

https://www.youtube....5D9C84595E7B77B

 

FP!

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Wensleydale]

               

And here's the original promotional trailer from BG2:

 

https://youtu.be/aD8BnROvBRc

 

I remember almost soiling myself in anticipation when I first saw that.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_ehye_khandee]

               

Best friend ever, ehye_khandee, I look forward to your great wisdom and knowledge to bring forth such information!

 

 

Sorry but I don't do this for free for anyone anymore - it is too much work for that.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_kalbaern]

               

Sorry but I don't do this for free for anyone anymore - it is too much work for that.

Why do you even bother to make posts here anymore if all you're going to do is be snarky, petulant and rarely anything approaching helpful. Thankfully, most of us here do share with each other freely, and none of us expect payment. This is a volunteer community and if you're going to continue to count yourself a member, perhaps you should adopt the spirit of our beloved community and actually help folks.